Testimony to the Maryland General Assembly
Presented by
Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., President
University of Maryland
College Park
February 2003
I am pleased to have the opportunity to report to the Subcommittee today and share news with you about the University of Maryland. The news is excellent. The
University continues to exceed expectations: our in-coming students are among the best in the State and country; external research funds are at record
levels; faculty are winning prestigious awards; and the University is attracting and partnering with a variety of industries and agencies, both domestic and
international.
The State's belief in our potential and its support are being well repaid. We would like to have every legislator visit the University, learn about our
innovative programs, tour our campus, and see first hand why we all should feel pride in the contributions we provide to the State and its citizens. In
December we welcomed the freshmen legislators for a tour. Please let Ross Stern know when you are interested in coming, and we will be happy to make
appropriate arrangements.
The University: Where Are We Now?
My report today will focus on what the University does for the State and for its citizens and what the University needs in order to continue to provide
maximum opportunities for individuals, communities, and the entire state.
Anyone in the State of Maryland who has followed the University over the
past decade can verify that the State's Flagship Institution today is at a very different place than it was 10 years ago. Ten years ago, the University was
just beginning to move ahead, determined to build on scattered areas of excellence. Today the University is a nationally prominent, vibrant, exciting,
intellectually engaged institution with expectations of excellence throughout the entire campus. It is recognized as a major resource throughout the State,
the region, and the world, delivering to the State many times the investment required for greatness. The rise of a University to the highest level of
prominence is a rare phenomenon in higher education and is due to the coincidence of a faculty eager to move ahead, a State and its citizens demanding and
paying for quality, and enormous advantages derived by location and other circumstances. Chancellor Emeritus Langenberg identified the impetus behind our
remarkable gains in an editorial in the Sun in March 2002. He wrote that the key to the rise of the University was a change in view of the State's
"political leaders, business leaders, parents, students, and taxpayers...Maryland decided that it wanted a university system as good as any in the country."
In 1900 when John D. Rockefeller was creating the University of Chicago he asked Charles William Eliot, President of Harvard, what it would take to
build a great university. Eliot said $50 million and 200 years. Today the time required may be shorter and the cost may be greater, but both are essential.
To build a university as good as any in the country costs money and takes time. After the 1988 commitment, the University leadership and faculty moved
forward as energetically as they could, going on the inspiration and hope generated by a spurt in funding. However, after the State's 1990 economic recession
and its consequences, the University was able to make only incremental advances. In 1998, the State began again to pursue in earnest a university of
national caliber as Figure 1 illustrates. By FY02, funding levels had just returned to the level of support of FY90. The University put the State's
funding to good use. Its rapid rise into the top echelon of public research universities in the last five years is clearly tied to the increasing State
support.
What Does It Take to Support Excellence?
The University of Maryland is in the first decade of its national prominence. In the rare instances when it happens, universities move in stature from good
to great over the course of about two decades. We simply cannot afford to slip backwards now if we are to create the University asset that will underpin the
future of the State according to the State's mandate.
What is the cost? The cost can be fairly estimated by comparison with those universities we
stand beside in reputation and accomplishments Ð our peers. The State has established five peer institutions considered among the top public universities in
the nation against which to benchmark our accomplishments and support: the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; the
University of Illinois; the University of Michigan; and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
We are to measure ourselves against these institutions
in terms of the performance and quality of students, caliber of faculty, research funding received, impact on economic development, etc. We are also to
compare the funding of these universities with that of University of Maryland, College Park. The funding stream is derived from tuition plus state general
fund appropriation per full-time student. Table 1 shows that the University's funding lags its peer group by more than $3,000 per full-time student,
which translates into more than $80 million of annual expenditures behind the peer average. Figures 2-6 compare the University to the peer-group
average in three ways: i) total of state general fund appropriation plus tuition and fees in Fig. 2; ii) state general fund appropriation in Fig 3; iii)
tuition and fees in Fig. 5. There are also two graphs comparing the University to the "high tuition university," the University of Michigan in Fig. 4,
and to the "high state general fund appropriation university," the University of North Carolina in Fig. 6. These graphs show that in this peer group,
the University consistently lies on the low side in both tuition revenue generated and state general fund appropriation.
The University of Maryland:
A Public Good
Some of our most important contributions are intangible. A nationally prominent university builds a sense of pride in the citizens
of a state. It creates a sense of community and loyalty: it is one state institution in which all citizens have a stake. Marylanders root for our winning
teams of all types, take pride in the notice paid to outstanding faculty, and look to us increasingly to provide a top quality education for the future.
Businesses and individuals want to locate in a state that stands out for the strength of its educational institutions, embodied in a great flagship campus.
They rely on the university for an educated workforce, quality education for the children of their employees, and the ready accessibility of experts who can
work with them.
National and world leaders come to great universities and bring great visibility to the state. This year the University has welcomed,
among others, Kofi Annan, who delivered the 2002 Sadat Lecture for Peace; Bill Cosby, who headlined a fund-raiser for the David C. Driskell Center for
Studies in the African Diaspora; Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein, in one of their very few appearances together, who discussed Watergate and its after
effects; and Dorothy Height, who at commencement charged the December graduates to put civil rights on their personal agendas.
The contributions of a
great university are also tangible. The University of Maryland is the key to the State's future, essential both to developing its economy and to building an
educated citizenry. The research university drives the society of today's world more than at any other time in history. In the new economy that is based on
knowledge, states expecting to lead in prosperity will depend, will absolutely depend, on top-ranked research universities as their major assets. There is
no question about it.
With its outstanding research programs and the spirit of entrepreneurship that has swept across the campus, the University will
be a major player in helping the State realize its potential. Two recent studies highlight the importance of the depth of research activity and the presence
of an educated workforce as key determinants of the economic future of a state. These studies show Maryland's high standing and enormous potential in an
information and technological-based age. In September 2002, the Milken Institute in California published The State Technology and Science Index to provide a
"comprehensive inventory of technology and science assets of states that can be leveraged to promote economic development." In a ranking of all combined
assets, the State of Maryland placed 4th nationally, behind Massachusetts, Colorado, and California. The Brookings Institute's June 2002 study, "Signs of
Life: The Growth of Biotechnology Centers in the U.S.," lists the State among the nine centers in which there is a concentration of biotechnology industry,
the "next great frontier of scientific advancement that will bring whole new industries...[whose] economic impacts...seem to be huge." To realize this
potential, the State requires an excellent research university.
The University Provides a High Quality, Innovative Educational Experience to its
Students
The University ensures an educational experience of the highest quality to our students. In the most recent US News and World Report
ranking, the University was ranked the 18th public university in the country with 47 academic programs in the top 15 and 67 in the top 25. In a new category
US News ranked university initiatives that "lead to academic success." Our living-learning programs ranked 3rd, and our "First Year Focus" program at
Maryland ranked 12th. We are the only institution in Maryland to place programs in the top 15 in two of the new categories. Our number of enriched programs
is expanding: the percent of new freshmen enrolled has increased from 38% in 1995 to 56% in Fall 2002.
Living-Learning Programs
Innovative living-learning programs help students from different majors focus on a common theme within the residential experience. The Hinman CEO
(Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities) Program is a living-learning program that helps undergraduate entrepreneurs start their own businesses. It was the
first recipient of the Price Institute Innovative Entrepreneurship Award recognizing the best entrepreneurial program in the country. Maryland was selected
for this national recognition over Harvard, Georgia Tech, and others during the Roundtable on Entrepreneurship Education for Engineers at Stanford.
It's easy to understand why it won first prize. In its first two and half years of existence, 37 of the 100 Hinman CEO students have created their
own firms, nine of which are already generating revenue. Students enroll in special courses and meet weekly with visiting venture capitalists and
entrepreneurs. In its October 30, 2002, edition, The Washington Post featured the work of the Hinman Program and highlighted Jason Volk of Potomac, Md., a
junior who credits the Hinman Program with motivating and assisting him in creating his own company, Alertus Technologies, which has received a $70,000
research grant for its innovative emergency alert system.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
We are building an important culture of
research opportunities for undergraduates through faculty mentorship. This year, the College of Life Sciences received $1.8 million from the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute to expand its Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. This is the third Hughes award it has received since 1992. Last year eighteen
Hughes undergraduate fellows presented their research findings at scientific conferences. Three won best presentation awards. Over the past decade eighty
percent of the fellows have gone on to graduate school and a quarter of them are under-represented minorities. In addition to structured programs in
departments or colleges across campus, informal research opportunities are available through individual faculty. The Office of the Dean for Undergraduate
Studies connects faculty and students for research and sponsors a program that funds seniors as Senior Summer Scholars to undertake work with faculty
mentors. Over 350 students participated in last year's "Undergraduate Research Day," presenting the results of their work.
Signature Writing and
Mathematics Programs
The English Department has a signature writing program that is a national model. Excellent writing skills are key to success
in the workplace. The Professional Writing Program junior level courses offer courses appropriate to particular professions; for example, there are sections
for scientists, engineers, business majors, and social science majors. The program is widely admired and known nationally as the "Maryland Model."
In a series of creative moves, the Department of Mathematics is now advancing students having difficulty in mathematics more rapidly. It replaced
its former preparation course for students not ready to take credit-bearing math by a new program enabling students both to correct their deficiencies and
take credit-bearing math in the same semester. The Sun ran a front-page story on it on September 15. In fall 2001 two thirds of the enrolled
students, more than 300 of them successfully completed both the preparation and the for-credit courses. Previously, only half the students would have
completed the preparation course only and none would have obtained math credit that semester. Further, more than 100 students went on to successfully
complete the calculus course in the spring. It's a great story all around.
Teacher Training Programs
The College of Education
strengthened its teacher training programs. All students who will graduate certified to teach in secondary education must now meet requirements for a
content degree. The College of Education worked closely with faculty from the arts and sciences to ensure that students are advised well in meeting content
and pedagogy requirements, and a number of the degree requirements in content areas were changed to accommodate the curriculum need of teachers in secondary
education. Students are now required to spend a yearlong internship in a professional development school, doubling the time they have to participate in an
actual school setting before they are certified. The College is working hard to increase the number of teachers in critical shortage areas, such as
mathematics, sciences, and foreign languages, through active recruitment, and they have developed multiple pathways to certification in secondary education
that include citations, certificates, a combined B.S./M.S. program, and a Master's certification option. The College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical
Sciences is developing new content majors in the physical sciences to address the shortage of teachers in these areas. The number of graduates recommended
for certification to the Maryland State Department of Education in 2002 is 11% higher than it was in 1998. The College's goal is to continue to increase the
number of certified teachers, particularly in secondary education where the needs are the greatest.
Diversity
The data continue to
give evidence of our achievement in diversity. According to the June 20, 2002, Black Issues in Higher Education, the University, as Table 2 shows,
was ranked among the very top in the total number of degrees awarded to African Americans. We ranked 1st overall in the number of doctorates awarded in
Mathematics, 3rd in engineering, social science and history; 6th in sending African-Americans to medical school.
In January 2003
Black Enterprise magazine ranked the "50 Best Colleges for African Americans" using indicators that include percentage of African American undergraduate
students and the school's social and educational environment for African American students. The University ranked 2nd among traditionally white public
research universities on the list and 20th among all colleges and universities in the nation. The State of Maryland had three universities ranked:
University of Maryland, 20; Morgan State University, 35; and Johns Hopkins University, 38.
Student Success Rates On the Rise
The vast
majority of entering freshmen say that they expect to graduate in four years, and they should. We don't admit students who lack the capacity to graduate.
Last year the University Senate passed several measures designed to promote student success by requiring mentorship for students who are having difficulty.
We are happy about our progress in increasing the success rates of our students. The rise in graduation rates is shown in Table 3.
We have much more to accomplish here, and improving the graduation rate continues to be a top priority.
The University is a Magnet for
Outstanding Students
Word of student opportunities and successes spreads. A campus visit is the single most powerful determinant in a
prospective student's decision on where to apply, and the number of students signing up for a campus visit is testimony to the University's increasing
reputation.
We are increasingly the University of choice for outstanding students from Maryland, from across the country and the
world as well. The 2002 entering class had an average GPA of 3.86 and SAT scores of 1263, both our highest ever. Applications for next year are up 4% over
this time last year, which was a record. Because of demand by full-time students, we have increased University owned/sponsored student housing opportunities
from 9,051 beds in Fall 1998 to 10,995 beds in Fall 2002, with an additional 600 beds scheduled for completion by Fall 2004.
The University Offers Educational Programs to Meet Special Workforce Needs
The University of Maryland, College Park administers the
Universities at Shady Grove (USG) and also offers popular degree programs in business and life sciences there. Created in response to the educational and
workforce needs in Montgomery County and its surrounding regions, USG is supported by eight University System of Maryland (USM) institutions working with
Montgomery College and the business community. Baccalaureate programs in 14 areas are offered and several graduate programs at both the masters and doctoral
levels. USG offers degrees in high-demand areas including business administration, computer science, information systems, biological sciences, education,
nursing, hospitality management and the social sciences. Enrollment has grown from 231 in 2000-2001 to 727 in 2002-2003.
The University works
with Montgomery College in support of the needs of the county. The Dingman Center in the Smith School of Business partners with the Macklin Business
Institute on topics such as the IT industry and global trade in support of students and industries. Student articulation between Montgomery College and our
USG business program is working well. Of the more than 100 students who began as juniors, over half were transfers from Montgomery College.
The
University Attracts Outstanding Faculty to the State
A world-class university attracts and retains faculty who are leaders in their disciplines.
We have space to highlight only a few UM faculty who etched a deep mark this past year.
James Yorke, Professor of Physics and Mathematics, won
the Japan Prize, one of science and technology's most prestigious awards, fully competitive with the Fields Medal, the Wolf Prize, and the Nobel Prize, for
his groundbreaking work in the discovery, formulation, and application of chaos theory. The Emperor and Empress of Japan will present Dr. Yorke to the
nation in a special ceremony this April.
Drs. Elizabeth Arnold and Joshua Weiner in the Department of English were among three poets nationwide
receiving Whiting Writers' Awards from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation. The $35,000 prizes are given annually to 10 emerging prose writers, poets, and
playwrights.
Dr. Michael Olmert in the Department of English is among the most prominent television, print, and film writers in the country, with
over 70 TV documentaries and many national awards, to his credit. He received his second Emmy in two years for his three-hour Discovery Channel document
"Walking with Prehistoric Beasts." This was the third most watched program in the history of the Discovery Channel.
Dr. Shibley Telhami, Anwar
Sadat Chair for Peace and Development in Government and Politics, has appeared nearly weekly in our national press and testified frequently before
Congressional committees. His balanced analyses and targeted recommendations on the Middle East are among the most highly considered and deeply respected in
the world.
An internationally recognized expert in human evolutionary genetics and the genetic basis of infectious disease, Dr. Sarah Tishkoff
has spent the last two summers collecting DNA samples from ethnically diverse African populations. In addition to top-flight scientific recognitions, her
work has been featured on the Discovery channel, PBS, BBC, NPR, as well as in articles in the New York Times, Washington Post,, LA Times, US News and World
Report, the Economist, National Geographic, Science News, Newsday, among others.
Faculty of this caliber fuel a research enterprise that continues
to grow at a rate greater than that of our peers. The amount of sponsored research and outreach activity increased to $352.4 million in FY02.
The University is a Magnet for Partnerships with Industry and Government that Enrich the State
The University's reputation for
excellence and entrepreneurship attracts new partners, bringing major players into the State. A major drawing card will be the University of Maryland
Research Park. Located near the College Park Metro site in College Park and Riverdale Park, the research park will occupy 128 acres owned or under option to
the University of Maryland. The area has approximately two and one-half million square feet of buildable research and development space-potentially the
largest university-related research park in the state of Maryland and the Greater Washington Region. (By comparison, the JHU East campus biotech park build
out is estimated at 2 million square feet; UMBC's park is capped at 300,000 square feet.) Full build out will require over one-half billion dollars of
construction over 15 years. Approximately $7 million in annual property tax revenues are anticipated at full build-out. An estimated 6,500 jobs will be at
the site.
Existing tenants in and around the Park are
The US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
The American Center of Physics
USDA Agriculture, Plant, and Health Inspection Service
University of Maryland Engineering
Research Building
Agencies wishing to locate there include the NSA, which will support a National Center for Linguistics and Analysis in partnership
with the University, and discussions are underway with the Department of Commerce concerning a future site for a new NOAA research building for 800 employees
to work collaboratively with the University. This partnership in combination with NASA Goddard will create the world's premier weather modeling and
prediction center. President Bush has included $10.6 million in his FY04 budget for this NOAA building.
Another future tenant with extraordinary
promise for economic enrichment of the State is China, which is moving rapidly to become engaged in the global economy and seeking links to Western industry.
The Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC has signed MOU's with the University to establish its first overseas research park in Maryland in
partnership with the University. The Ministry sees this partnership as an opportunity to introduce China's emerging entrepreneurs to Western business
practices and establish contacts with State's businesses. This would be the base for China's technology entree to the U.S., and other parks would be located
around the country in places like California and Massachusetts. The hub would be in Maryland. A ribbon cutting for the first offices took place in December
2002.
Partnerships with federal agencies are flourishing. The A.J. Clark School of Engineering has been awarded two new institutes in partnership
with NASA. This past summer, the Clark School was selected to lead a NASA University Research, Engineering, and Technology Institutes (URETI) to develop
third generation reusable launch vehicles funded at $3 million per year for a minimum of five years. The collaborators on our team include
University of Michigan, University of Washington, North Carolina A&T and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
In September 2002, NASA announced a grant
to the University of Maryland, along with five major universities and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to create the National
Institute of Aerospace (NIA). The NIA will facilitate cutting-edge aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation and help
inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. The Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina A & T, North Carolina State University,
University of Virginia and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the AIAA are our partners in this venture, whose potential total value is
about $379 million.
A proposal for a new center based on a partnership between NIST, NSA, and UMCP is also under consideration. This Center is the
outgrowth of 40 years of collaboration between NSA and the University in the Laboratory for Physical Sciences that today involves 70-80 graduate students, 25
NSA scientists, and approximately 50 UM faculty and other professionals working on basic, unclassified research in areas such as nanotechnology,
superconductors, magnetic materials, and other areas related to national security. The new Center would take advantage of the strength of existing
collaborations and the special advantage of our location to build a major center in research on quantum computing.
The University Provides Expertise
that Helps the State and its Businesses
A tangible contribution the University makes to the State is through programs that are established to assist
the State's industries. From the Dingman Center's New Market Fund, which administers a for-profit $20 million venture capital fund targeted at
economically-depressed areas, to the Maryland Small Business Development Center, which has provided $36 million in loans in regional centers across the
State, the University-run or sponsored programs for the development of business are significant.
Compelling examples of activities in the transfer of
technology to the Maryland economy are found in the work of the many programs in the University of Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH). MTECH
programs advance technology in Maryland through collaborative R&D, company incubation, expert solutions and new venture formation. Many of its projects
involve experts and researchers from campuses throughout the University System. Four programs are summarized below.
TAP
The Technology
Advancement Program (TAP) is a university-based incubator providing space, state-of-the-art biotech and IT facilities, and business and technical support for
technology-based early stage companies. Since the program's inception in 1984, 45 companies have graduated from TAP. Those companies have created more than
800 part- and full-time jobs, and have secured more than $376 million in investment funds.
In 2002, TAP was ranked 1st in the country among
incubators for research grant support realized by its companies, according to a survey conducted by the National Business Incubation Association. TAP was
ranked 3rd for the number of patents held by its client companies and 2nd for biotechnology patents. Two powerhouse biotech companies in Maryland, Martek
and Digene, are graduates of TAP.
MIPS
The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program offers matching funds for
university/industry collaborative research and development projects with commercial potential. Maryland companies have attributed more than $300 million in
sales to results yielded from MIPS projects. When combined with MIPS' support for research and development, which exceeds $100 million, the total economic
impact of MIPS on the Maryland economy since its inception 15 years ago is more than $400 million. This does not include increased productivity resulting
from process-oriented MIPS R&D. Every MIPS dollar results in five dollars being spent for R&D in Maryland.
Of the 280 companies that have received MIPS contracts, 96 were engaged in biotech-related research and development.
MedImmune, the State's most successful biotech company, was helped by a MIPS project in developing Synagis, the 10th best selling biotech drug in the world,
as was Martek with Formulaid, its popular infant formula.
MTES
MTES, the Maryland Technology Extension Service, strengthens the
competitiveness of Maryland manufacturers by delivering on-site expert technical assistance for improving manufacturing processes, developing new products,
and increasing productivity. With five regional offices, MTES is in close proximity to nearly every company in Maryland.
MTES is the State's member
of the NIST Manufacturing Extension partnership (MEP), a nationwide network of 61 not-for-profit centers providing manufacturers with assistance. MTES was
rated as the 2nd highest performing NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership center in the nation. MTES was ranked in the 90th percentile for both
bottom-line client impact and cost per impacted client, and in the 75th percentile for both customer satisfaction and survey response rate.
Over the
past two years, MTES has had a $54 million impact on Maryland manufacturers, by helping them increase and retain sales, save costs, and avoid unnecessary
investments.
BIOTECH
BIOTECH, the Maryland Biotechnology Program, promotes growth in Maryland's biotechnology community through its
Bioprocess Scale-up Facility. It has served such biotech giants as Human Genome Sciences, NIH, and MedImmune. The Scale-up Facility trains employees of
biotech companies in the latest production techniques. Fermentation, cell culture, and purification are featured in the new workforce training initiative.
The Bioprocess Scale-up Facility is the only facility in Maryland available to small and large companies in an R&D environment not limited by Good
Manufacturing Practices requirements. Since 1998, it has conducted more than 675 fermentations and been used by 42 Maryland companies and 6 federal
agencies, including NIH and Walter Reed Research Institute.
How Does the University Rate Nationally?
To answer this important
question, let's take a look at two national maps that will enable assessment of rankings graphically in fields that are key to the development of technology
and technology businesses. In one map, business schools that rank in the top-10 nationally in teaching and in research are listed. Only six universities
appear in both top-10 lists and they are shown on the map. They are Berkeley, Stanford, Chicago, MIT, Northwestern and Maryland. The second map shows every
university nationally that ranks in the top-20 in each of four fields: computer science, engineering, mathematics and physics. There are only 10 nationally
that have all four programs ranked in the top 20; three are in the west, two in the mid-west, one in the south, and the four in the east are Maryland, MIT,
Princeton and Northwestern. These maps show why the State of Maryland is so well positioned to take advantage of technology growth and opportunity.
A University Education:
Public Good or Personal Benefit?
That is the Question
In the knowledge economy, the advancement of states and regions and entire countries depends not on armies, natural resources, or labor; it depends on people
who know things, can do things, can innovate and can lead. Eighty-five percent of the products sold by the giant Sun Microsystems did not exist two years
ago. Just as every state will depend on its research universities to help it lead, so must every person who wants to participate in the economy have an
education at an advanced level.
Education empowers individual initiative. It is the key to personal intellectual development and personal prosperity.
Lifetime earnings depend on educational attainment. According to a US Census Bureau Report (Christian Science Monitor, July 8, 2002), individuals who obtain
a BS/BA degree earn $900,000 more than graduates from high school. Individuals who earn the PhD earn $2.2 million more over a lifetime, and those with a
first professional degree earn $3.2 million more. This boon to the individual has significant impact on the tax base and the prosperity of the State.
A critical mass of educated individuals in the workforce is essential in the knowledge economy. According to the 2002 Milken Institute Report:
"Human capital is the most important intangible economic asset of a region. Broader measures of knowledge and skill sets, such as the
percentage of the population with a bachelors' degree...[and] advanced technology and science talent are the economic engines of the 21st century. The depth
of talent attracts and retains firms and provides regions with creative potential to conduct and find economic value for research. Economic opportunity must
be present to leverage talented individuals or states face a death spiral of brain drain."
Every analysis over the past 20 years of
regions with greatest economic vitality supports this conclusion in the Milken report.
We are committed to providing the doorway to future opportunity
to every student through our innovative educational programs, excellent faculty, and creative environment. Through expansion of programs such as those at
the Universities of Shady Grove, through special programs that seek out and support students who have shown potential and overcome adversity, and through
increased financial support, the University of Maryland is committed to preserving and expanding access to higher education. The quality of education that
the State of Maryland has mandated and that keeps the best students in state is not cheap. But the State can no longer afford to continue sending it best
students out of the State for higher education. Someone must pay the costs.
The dilemma is who pays for a quality education. Everyone wants a top
quality education. Students pursue a top quality program from the time they survey universities they may wish to attend to the time they become alumni.
Alumni, community people, businesses, faculty, parents, essentially everyone wants a university and program that are growing in stature, success and respect.
Nobody I have spoken with wants to accept a lower
quality educational experience. In my four decades in higher education, I have never found the person who argues for a cheaper and lower quality experience.
Nobody wants to go backward in program quality either. The University of Maryland has come so far and its programs have strived so hard for, and obtained,
great achievement and recognition that no one wants it to slip backwards. Alumni to a person want the University to grow in stature because its growth is
their growth. The State has mandated top quality at the University of Maryland in the 1988 legislation that formed the System and again in the Larson Task
Force Bill (SB682) in 1999, where it stipulated by law the top priority status of the University. The public demands quality and has consistently
demonstrated a willingness to pay for it too, which is a part of the problem. When I was a student, the cost of public higher education was lower, much
lower, but the quality was much lower too. Both cost and quality have been rising ever since. Hence the dilemma.
Critical Issues for the
University: Maintaining Quality and Access
Completing the Biosciences Research Building. The position of the University for the past
five years has been that strong biosciences is an absolute necessity for any university that wishes its programs and contributions to be among the top ranks
in this century. Our number one priority has been to lift our biosciences onto the top echelon of programs throughout the country. We cannot take the final
step without an appropriate facility for research in the biological sciences. We appreciate the inclusion of planning funds in the current budget; it is
essential that the bioscience building be fully funded in FY2005. Attracting and Retaining First Class Faculty. If we are to continue serving
the State as mandated, we must have the highest quality faculty. The departments and colleges are in competition with the top universities in the country,
public and private, for faculty. We have to be in this national, highly competitive game. We need the support to bring to the University the giants of
tomorrow on whose shoulders the future of the State rests. Protecting Access through Increased Student Aid. A third priority is increased
support of students. Ten years ago 42% of the University System operating budget was paid for by the state and today that figure is 28%. We find ourselves
in an environment where the students and everyone else want quality and the expectation for quality continues to increase, but the State is contributing
relatively less and less to support it. Since about 1975 policy makers at the state and federal levels have viewed education as a "personal benefit" to the
student. As a personal benefit, the beneficiary should pay for it. The result: more loans and fewer scholarships, more merit based scholarships and fewer
need-based scholarships, higher tuitions and lower state support.
This burden of debt is a problem that we must address together. The University has reluctantly increased its tuition by 5%, and it set aside 21% of the
revenue from the increase for need-based aid. In this way, we covered the full tuition increase for every Pell Grant eligible student (the category defined
as most financially needy by federal formulas). We covered 75% of the tuition increase for students whose expected family contributions are less than
$7,000, and who have already taken out loans. In total we awarded 3,860 students financial support to meet the increase.
Financial support for
university students includes more than scholarships and grants. In FY02, the University spent more than $87 million in employing undergraduate and graduate
students, and we provided almost $22 million in tuition scholarships. Employment, grants and scholarships, and tuition scholarships together total 15% of
the University's total expenditures of over $1 billion. This amount is equivalent to 50% of the State general fund appropriation. In other words, in
addition to providing a quality education, we put back into student support a very significant amount. Despite the huge amount provided as direct benefit
to meet students' financial needs, we all must do more.
Therefore, decreases in our funding impact our ability to employ students and to provide
financial aid, and proposals to alter the way we provide tuition remission would seriously harm our commitment to provide access to all students.
Protecting the University's Facilities and Physical Plant.
Following the severe reductions to the budget in the early 1990's, the University
was forced to postpone facilities renewal.
The University of Maryland has over 11 million square feet of academic, research and administrative space. Currently, the campus
has a deferred maintenance backlog of approximately $60 million. Over 70% of our space is over 20 years old; 22% of the space is over 50 years old; and
today, 41% of the space requires major updating and modernization. Specifically, the HVAC and electrical systems in many of the older facilities are in
desperate need of attention; failing HVAC systems are creating air quality problems in Benjamin, Tydings, and the Engineering Building, and heating pipes in
Mitchell, Lee, and other buildings on McKeldin Mall are in such poor shape that a significant building system renewal effort will be necessary to repair them
adequately.
Maintaining the Momentum for the State.
To fulfill the mandate of the State, the University must maintain upward momentum of
its service to the State and its citizens. Momentum is the psychological thrust of the organization; it keeps people moving and aiming high. The University
will do everything in its power to maintain its momentum and build on the achievements of the past few years. It will do everything it can to help the State
of Maryland lead in the knowledge economy. That is our pledge. The University has the rarely found capacity to attain greatness and the State gave its
imprimatur in 1988. State funding has not yet caught up to promise. The University needs a continuing commitment, not only of funds, but also of
understanding that a great university is the key to the State's future. Higher education in Maryland can no longer be viewed as discretionary. It is
mandatory. It is mandatory for our citizens who want to compete for jobs, and it is mandatory for leading in the knowledge economy rather than sitting back
and watching other states lead. If the University fails its mandate, it will be the State that is the loser. We cannot let that happen to the citizens of
the State of Maryland.
